Kofi Annan to update UN on Syria Monday

UNITED NATIONS -- Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is scheduled to deliver to the Security Council Monday a second report on the progress he is making to broker peace in war-ravaged Syria, two days after a foreign ministry spokesman said the government would not withdraw troops from cities engulfed by unrest.

Annan's report, via videoconference from the UN headquarters in Geneva, comes within a week of Syrian President Bashar Assad's acceptance of Annan's six-point plan for resolving the year-old crisis, which began along with the so-called Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya that ousted long-standing leaders of those countries.

On Friday, Annan urged Syria to stop military activities first, as "the stronger party" and in a "gesture of good faith."

But Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi said Saturday that the military is in war-torn cities "in a state of self-defense and protecting civilians." "Once peace and security prevail in these areas, the army will not stay nor wait for Kofi Annan to leave," he said.

UN envoy Robert Serry, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the 15-member Security Council last week that the conflict has so far claimed 9,000 lives and sparked a humanitarian crisis, with refugees spilling over the border into Turkey.

A joint analysis of the situation on the ground by the UN and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation estimated that 1 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance, said UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey.

Since Annan's first report on March 16, Security Council members displayed unity in drafting a presidential statement that endorsed Annan's mission to stop the violence, provide a corridor for humanitarian agencies to reach victims, release detainees, and start political dialogue with opposition groups and the Syrian government.

In a statement, Annan called Assad's acceptance of the plan "an important step," but he stressed that "implementation will be the key" to resolving the crisis.

Annan's six-point proposal requires the government to immediately pull troops and heavy weapons out of cities and towns, and abide by a two-hour halt in fighting every day to allow humanitarian access and medical evacuations.

Despite Assad's pledge to cooperate, activists said more than two dozen people died in fighting Saturday, several days after the Syrian president wrote to Annan saying he accepted the plan.

The fresh violence comes ahead of a Friends of the Syrian People meeting Sunday in Istanbul.

The gathering of about 70 countries, including the United States, will address two independent plans for Syria, one that countenances keeping Assad in power and another that calls for his ouster.

Those differing views mirror the debate that resulted in a divided Security Council several weeks ago, when China and Russia twice vetoed resolutions that seemed to require Assad's removal.